The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) is the largest member organisation for tourism and hospitality businesses in Scotland and the leading representative body for the sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on most of Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry and the supply chain that supports it. The sector is now facing the combined challenge of high costs and inflationary pressures, resulting in cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crises, which many tell us is a tougher environment than the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, the STA remains firmly on the front foot; informing, supporting, and offering advice to its members and key stakeholders. It also continues to make strong, direct representation to senior Scottish and UK Government ministers and public agencies, to ensure that all tourism and hospitality businesses are supported, protected and helped towards strong recovery.

Our focus is to shape a vibrant tourism industry for Scotland’s visitors and people and we work hard to influence the creation of supportive policy to enable Scotland’s tourism industry to reach its growth potential.

The STA connects tourism businesses, destinations, sectoral groups and other national organisations right across the UK and further afield to improve collaboration, knowledge and the sharing of best practice to build and strengthen tourism’s voice.

As a core member of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group, we sit alongside and work closely with the other national organisations and leading institutions invited to be on the Group. These include; the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors, Scotland Food & Drink, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Scottish Financial Enterprise, The Scottish Retail Consortium, The Fraser of Allander Institute, and Business in the Community. The STA are also members of the Trades Association Forum which meets quarterly with Cabinet Ministers, MPs and MSPs

The CEO of the STA, in an independent capacity, co-chairs the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group (ILG) with the Scottish Tourism Minister and represents the sector group on the ILG Chairs’ Forum.

To enable the STA and its Policy Working Group to offer the best possible representation of the issues and challenges the industry faces, and to bring about the changes needed to drive our tourism economy, it is vital that we hear your voice.

Please do keep up to date with our latest news and connect with us on our social media platforms.

No matter what your business is, remember that tourism is everybody’s business – it touches almost every part of our society.

Find out more about the strongest, most impactful and well-respected tourism and hospitality network in Scotland and how to become a member of the STA today.